Programming Windows®, Six Edition

Chapter 19. Pen (Also Known as Stylus)

An aura of controversy surrounds this chapter. The subject is an input device that has an uncertain future in computing, and passions are strong on each side of the issue: In 2010, Steve Jobs discussed the possibility of other tablets attempting to compete with the iPad and declared, “If you see a stylus, they blew it.”^[1]

Yet, anyone who’s tried to use a traditional mouse-based application on a touch screen would certainly disagree. The stylus is not quite as convenient as a finger or as versatile as multiple fingers, but it’s nearly as precise as a mouse and usually works much better than fingers for picking items from menus and selecting and erasing input. The Samsung 700T that I’ve been using for most ...